Oil Spill

Everyone and their cousin is all freaked out now that the oil spill has “hit land.” I freaked out when it hit the water.

As a former scholarship swimmer, I have always been fascinated the way things move in the water. Always been jealous of Dolphins. Love how shrimp swim backwards. And I have dreams that I can fly like a bird. But this post is not about me, how well I can write or how funny I can be. It’s about you and how you can help.

Start with yourself and work your way out. But to help immediately, I have stolen these outlets from the Huff Post:

•You can register through OilSpillVolunteers.com to volunteer or join a cleanup organization.
•The BP Volunteer Hotline has set up numbers if you need to report injured wildlife or damage related to the spill. You can also request volunteer information at 866-448-5816 866-448-5816
•The Oiled Wildlife Care Network is providing volunteer information, though help from private citizens is not being requested at this time.
•CrisisCamp set up a conference call for Friday afternoon — follow the notes of this meeting, containing volunteer information with nonprofits and information from government organizations. You can also follow the CrisisCamp oil spill Twitter list for updates.
•The National Wildlife Federation has a message you can send to President Obama to urge restoration of Louisiana’s Coastal Wetlands. They’re also asking for residents to upload photos to flickr and tag them SPILL_NW10.

It’s a little late to spew vitriol at the people who let this happen. There’s plenty of time for that later. Now is the time to help. I found 646 articles on what this will trigger in terms of future impact. Simply put, there’s nothing this one won’t touch. Please if you have any other ways to help, post it on up. Comment. RT. This needs your attention. Like yesterday. Thank you. ~Mike

Mike –
Thanks for the post and resources – and especially for mentioning CrisisCamp. CrisisCamp Miami right after the Haiti earthquake drew about 100 people together for a tech workshop, but even more online. People don’t need to attend physically to help – work can be done remotely to help. So I enourage people to check it out, as well as the other resources you’ve noted.

But it’s funny, I’m of two minds about the oil spill. I’ve never been a fan of offshore drilling, BUT… are we to let the risks of accidents stop us from pursuing certain goals? Maybe some consequences (especially global and environment) ARE not worth the risk, but I think about history and about transcontinental railroads being built or dams (like the Hoover Dam) being constructed, and the tragedies and accidents that occurred while doing them. Who would say that the results were not worth the lives and catastrophes that took place? It’s kind of like personal achievement – if you let the risk of failing stop you, you’ve already failed. Offshore drilling is a huge, complex issue that can’t be boiled down to some simple “Drill Baby Drill!” chant or “the risk is worth the reward” cliche, and again maybe some risks ARE not worth it (the risk of losing the rainforest or destroying the Gulf wetlands), but I don’t know if the knee-jerk reaction of “no going forward until every possible scenario is accounted for” is a good one either. With that kind of thought process, we might never have moved forward to land a man on the moon.

I’m an old hippie, and the idea of drilling off the coast is crazy. So I’m not advocating it at all. I’m more making against the notion that progress can come without risk. (Don’t get me started about whether drilling more oil is “progress”…) America, as a nation of immigrants (take that, Arizona!) and risk-takers, has always found ways to get better and do better. We can’t let fear hold us back.

As always, thanks for your input. On progress without risk, I must say that the Hoover Dam construction began in 1931 and it’s 2010. I hope what everyone takes away from this (like you did) that boots don’t have to be on the ground to help out on this tragedy just as CrisisCamp Miami did after the Haiti earthquake. That’s what was behind the picture of the mouse and the phone. I probably shouldn’t have even put up the pic of the oiled bird. Have a great weekend. ~Mike